TORONTO -- The morning of the Blue Jays¡¯ first Spring Training game, back on Feb. 22 in Dunedin, Fla., Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the opening act for batting practice.
While Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk and some other Blue Jays hitters strolled onto the field at TD Ballpark early that morning, Guerrero was behind the cage meticulously prepping his bat, making sure it had the right grip in the right place. Over the stadium speaker¡¯s, Daft Punk¡¯s ¡°One More Time¡± played.
¡°One more time!¡± Vladdy sang. He danced his way through the next verse, bouncing around the edges of the cage, bobbing his head and moving his hips until the next chorus came around. ¡°One more time!¡±
Teammates smiled, coaches sipped their coffee and behind him, the thwack, thwack, thwack of batting practice began. Just four days removed from his Feb. 18 deadline for extension talks, which came, passed and brought a storm cloud with it, Vladdy was every bit of the joyful, vibrant force fans have come to love, one which had existed outside of the drama. Those days are done, though. The bright lights are on. The games count now.
Whether next year looks better, worse or just plain different, seismic changes are coming, especially if the Blue Jays can¡¯t find a way to win their first postseason game since 2016 ¡ and especially if they can¡¯t find a way to convince Vladdy to stick around and become the ¡°legacy player¡± Mark Shapiro dreams of.
There¡¯s enough talent to work with here, but these past five years have been a lesson that talent only takes a team so far. Guerrero was one of the first to bring up this idea, but so many of his teammates and coaches soon followed: It¡¯s the clubhouse. What is being described as a weakness in 2024 -- or at the very least a challenge -- is now a strength.
¡°It feels better than last year. Way, way better than last year,¡± Guerrero said. ¡°We have a lot of meetings, a lot of things going on in the offseason. I want to be a better communicator for us. One of the things I¡¯ve said is that I want to be more vocal. If you need me, I¡¯m going to be right over there. In the past, I didn¡¯t like it because I didn¡¯t like somebody laughing about my English, but now I can speak more English and I feel more comfortable speaking. It¡¯s way better. I can communicate with everybody.¡±
The message of a stronger clubhouse is coming from every corner of the roster, including Jos¨¦ Berr¨ªos, who praised the stronger relationship between coaches and players after hinting there were ¡°a few things¡± last year that got in the way of their confidence and enjoyment of the game. That, according to everyone who¡¯s spoken about it, is gone now.
¡°It helps a lot,¡± said Bichette. ¡°It¡¯s a really good mix of people who really enjoy coming to the field, but also who enjoy putting in the work and enjoy competing. It¡¯s a great mix. It¡¯s a little bit more mature. It¡¯s been really good with the new guys.¡±
Manager John Schneider calls this the thing ¡°you¡¯re always searching for.¡± It¡¯s the value you can¡¯t measure on the field, but it¡¯s what so often separates teams when everyone has talent, everyone spends money and everyone wants to win.
Will this really matter, or are the Blue Jays grasping for hope after years spent doing just that? The people in the clubhouse say it matters, which is all that counts right now.
For years, Guerrero represented hope, the hope of moving from those 2015-16 teams and into a new era of chasing championships. He still represents that in a sense, but hope has an expiry. Last week in Dunedin, Shapiro was direct in saying he believes the Blue Jays will extend Guerrero, whether that comes sometime soon or in free agency.
General manager Ross Atkins wouldn¡¯t go too deep into those waters on the eve of the 2025 season. There¡¯s incredible pressure on this season, though, the weight of which is felt by everyone wearing a Blue Jays logo on their chest, whether that¡¯s a jersey, a polo or a quarter-zip.
¡°I remain very hopeful,¡± Atkins said Wednesday. ¡°I was just talking to Tony [Santander] on the way in and I said: yo tengo esperanza. I have hope. That¡¯s how I feel.¡±
Is this the last time? The only option left is to enjoy it all like it might be.
One more time.